Dubai was a 6,000-person fishing village half a century ago. Since 1966, when oil was discovered there, the population of Dubai has grown to 2.6 million. Over the years, it {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (become) a well-known tourist destination .

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} attracts tourists to Dubai are tax-free shopping, dry weather, excellent accommodations, delicious food and beaches that go on for miles. In fact, some foreigners come here only {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (experience) the shopping. There are dozens of shopping malls, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (provide) every famous brand you can name. Those outdoor markets sell everything from spices (香料) to gold at fair prices.

    Choosing what places to visit in Dubai is difficult, because even the hotels there are also amazing {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (attract). The Burj A1 Arab is considered one of the world's best hotels, and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} is located on its own island, about 1,000 feet offshore from Dubai. Built in the shape of {#blank#}7{#/blank#} ship, this hotel is still {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (tall) than the Eiffel Tower and nearly as tall as the Empire State Building. Certainly, there are also other great places of interest to visit.

    Indeed, travelling around this country will {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (true) give you an amazing experience because of its interesting things {#blank#}10{#/blank#}  (offer) to all types of tourists.

    Many people believe small talk is very{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(bore).Although that is true,there are many places where small talk is very important.In Western culture,strangers talk to other strangers{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(frequent).On the other hand,small talk is not so common in Eastern culture.Strangers are{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(friend)to one another in Western culture,and small talk is very important to English learning.One other place where small talk is important is in{#blank#}4{#/blank#}interview.Besides,the best way to learn small talk is to provide many examples.Here are some{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(suggest)about how to use examples.Small talk{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(involve)many different topics.In other words,students can learn several lessons,{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(cover)other subjects,such as sports,jobs,schools,etc.Once we have started the small talk,{#blank#}8{#/blank#}is your responsibility to keep the conversation{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(focus)on your work and study.In order to do so,you can talk about anything{#blank#}10{#/blank#}is not too personal.

    On a{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(freeze) cold day,Mrs Smith's dog was hungry,but there was not any meat{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(leave) in the house.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (consider) there was no better way,Mrs Smith took a piece of paper,and wrote the{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(follow) words: “Give my dog half a pound of meat.”Then she asked her dog to take it to the butcher's.When the butcher recognized that it was really the lady's handwriting,he did as he{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(ask) to.The dog was very happy,and ate the meat up immediately.

    The next day,the dog came again exactly at midday.And as{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(usually),it brought a piece of paper in the mouth.This time the butcher did not take a look at the paper,and just gave the dog its meat,for he had regarded the dog{#blank#}7{#/blank#}one of his customers.

    One day later,to the butcher's more surprise,it came at six o'clock and brought{#blank#}8{#/blank#}third piece of paper.Though {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(surprise),the butcher gave him{#blank#}10{#/blank#}he wanted.But what he didn't know was,that there were not any words on the paper!

    The word Nushu literally means “women's writing” in Chinese: As the name suggests, Nushu is created and specially used by women.

    Often {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（call） “the world's only surviving characters for women”, these slim words were developed from standard written Chinese. In the old days, Nushu {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（teach）by elderly women to girls at home because female children weren't allowed {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（attend）formal school. During gatherings in villages, women used the characters to .write poems or song lyrics to express their emotions {#blank#}4{#/blank#} were hidden from men. The words were full {#blank#}5{#/blank#} encouragement and positive energy, and showed an uncommon open-mindedness among women at that time.

    Ji Xianlin once said that Nushu is a feminist（女权主义者）symbol. “It's {#blank#}6{#/blank#} unique writing system created by {#blank#}7{#/blank#}（talent）women who were deprived（剥夺）of the right to education,” he wrote in an article. “It has significance in various {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（field）and represents Chinese people's strong spirit.”

    Nushu was made as a national cultural heritage in 2006. However, it is not {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（wide）used in daily life today. In fact, it is a dying language. Now linguists are taking action to prevent this incredible cultural heritage from{#blank#}10{#/blank#}（disappear）.

    Ever wondered how many calories are in the human body? Or ever wondered why old people have {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (big) ears than they used to? The winners of Ig Nobel Prizes (搞笑诺贝尔奖) have got the answers.

    He Ig Nobel Prizes, founded in 1991, are to honor achievements {#blank#}2{#/blank#} first make people laugh, and then make them think, The ceremony {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (take) place at Harvard University every year. Winners' acceptance {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(speech) are limited to 60 seconds, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (strict) policed by an eight-year-old girl.

    The honored research might seem ridiculous {#blank#}6{#/blank#} first sight, but that doesn't mean it lacks scientific value. For example, the research in 2006 on why dry spaghetti tends to break into more than two pieces was important {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (discover) failure in bridge spans (跨度) or human bones And a follow-up paper {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (publish) by MIT physicists several years later. But people are more likely to read about {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (break) spaghetti than to read an academic paper. Even when there is no immediate usefulness, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} is still good to encourage people to observe and think.

When I was young, I often saw my grandmother dancing in the garden.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}she was old, her movements were still very beautiful. I fell in love with dancing at that moment. I started learning hip-hop. At first, I watched and followed the{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(dancer) on TV. Then I joined a dance club and made a career of dancing. From then on, dancing has become the most{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(wonder) thing in my life.